by P D Atkerson
"Good, good! And who might this be?" The Queen asked, moving to kiss the king on the cheek. “My love, I’ve missed you dearly.”
“And I, you.” King Dillaran said, taking and kissing her hand. “You were gone too long.”
“Well, the people needed me.”
“So, do we.” The king whispered, brushing a strand of her hair back.
“Who is our little guest?” she asked, gazing at Aroron. In the five seconds he'd seen of her, Aroron knew she was very energetic and seemed to hop from thing to thing.
"This, my dear, is Aroron." King Dillaran said, kissing his wife one last time on the cheek. "He's the newest member of our household. He's quite good with the sword. He bested Telarian in a duel!" he said, bumping the prince with his arm.
"He just barely bested me." Telarian mumbled, glancing up from the ground just long enough to glare at Aroron.
Aroron ignored him, as he turned towards the Queen.
"Your majesty." He said, dropping to one knee. "It is an honor to meet you, my lady." He said, though he really couldn't have cared less. Her perkiness was already getting on his nerves. Maybe that explained why Prince Telarian was such a creep.
“Please, there’s no need to kneel, my dear.” The Queen said, motioning him back to his feet.
Aroron pushed himself back to his feet. “Thank you, my lady.”
For a long moment, the Queen seemed to look him over as she moved closer to him. "You're right, Gana. He does look like Uncle Ozy!" The Queen laughed. "Maybe it's his grumpy face." She said, pinching Aroron’s face. Aroron wondered how old she thought he was.
"Darling, he's not a child." The King whispered gently to the Queen.
"Yes, of course!" The Queen said, smiling. "But he would have a charming face, if he smiled once and in a while." She said, moving back to her couch. “Quite handsome, in fact.”
Aroron glanced towards the other couch and for the first time, noticed Lady Gana lounging on it. Her dress matched the purple couch perfectly, making her hard to notice in all the colors around her. She almost seemed to become invisible.
"My lady." Aroron said, bowing his head towards Gana.
She grinned at him. "Aroron." She said, moving her gaze to Telarian. "Your majesty." Telarian ignored her hello, and turned away from her, crossing his arms. Everyone seemed to ignore him. He was probably always this moody.
“Gana said you two have met before. Is that true?” the Queen asked, her dark eyes sparkling.
Aroron cleared his throat, tugging at his collar. “Yes, your majesty.” He said, bowing his head again. “We’ve met before.”
“You were in Hatter before it burned, isn’t that right?” the Queen asked. He felt his mouth go dry, as he searched for the words to say. He wasn’t sure how much Gana had told her, so he didn’t know what to say. But before he even had a chance to speak, the Queen continued. “She told me quite a bit about your little adventure and if you want to know what I think, I think Gana likes you.”
“My lady!” Gana cried, partly covering her face with her hand as she sunk deeper into the couch.
“What?” the Queen asked, grinning. “Is it not true?”
“My love, I don’t think that’s your place to say such a thing.” The King said, clearly as embarrassed as Aroron felt.
“Yes, my husband. I’m sorry Aroron, Gana.” The Queen said. “It wasn’t my place to say anything about the two of you. I don’t even know you, Aroron and now you probably think I’m a crazy old woman!”
“I do not think you’re crazy or old, your majesty.” Aroron said, smiling politely, even though all he wanted to do was leave the room right then and there. He hardly knew these people, but they were already talking about his ‘feelings’, something that would never have happened in the Dark Castle.
They stood there in silence and Aroron wished he could just disappear. This is so weird!
Finally, the Queen spoke again. “Telarian, will you please take Aroron to his chamber. I’m sure he’s tired and is in need of sleep.”
“What do I look like? A servant?” the prince asked. “You don’t get to give me orders!”
“Telarian!” the king snapped, swatting his son’s shoulder. “You will not speak to my wife that way. Go take Aroron to his chamber right now, and that’s an order.”
“Yes, sir.” Telarian growled through his teeth, as he turned towards Aroron. “Watch carefully, I won’t show you where it is a second time.”
With a quick bow to everyone else in the room, Aroron turned and hurried out the door after the prince, he was already a ways down the hallway from him.
As he walked behind Telarian, Aroron cleared his throat and tried to think of something to say to the prince. As much as he didn’t like the boy, he didn’t want him to hate him. He already had enough enemies, and if he wanted information for Hunter, he was going to have to make friends.
That wasn’t going to be easy.
Clinching his fists tightly, Aroron forced himself to speak, “Your mother’s… charming.”
Telarian stopped short and spun around towards him. “She’s not my mother!” he hissed. “She’s my father’s second wife. Why does everyone forget that?!”
Well, that didn’t work out as planned. Aroron thought to himself. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“You’re not the only one!” he growled, turning his gaze away from Aroron. “No one seems to remember my mother.”
Aroron wasn’t sure what to do. “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to her?” he asked, biting his lip. Hopefully he hadn’t crossed the line.
The prince sighed and seemed to think. “I was only eight at the time, but I remember her acting strange. There was this one time she woke me up late at night and told me how much she loved me.” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat before he continued. “Then one day, she just left.” Telarian whispered. “Everyone acted like she’d never been here. As if she’d never existed! My father hasn’t spoken of her since.”
“Do you have any idea what happened to her?” Aroron asked.
“No. But she’s out there somewhere, and one day I’ll find her.” The prince said, staring out into space. “I will find her. Maybe when I’m king, she’ll come back. I’m sorry, I have no idea why I told you that.” He said, his face turning red.
“Believe me, I know how you feel.” Aroron said. “My mother… she died when I was about that age.” Murdered. He wanted to say, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the word.
“I know it’s not very nice of me to say, but I’d rather have lost my mother that way.” Telarian said. “Than to never know what happened to her, or why she left me here.”
“Yeah, well recently I found out she… may not have been my mother after all.” Aroron said. “Nor was my father who I thought he was.”
Telarian frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
Aroron sighed and shook his head. “Never mind. Let’s just say, I was adopted and the people I thought were my parents weren’t even the ones to tell me.”
“I guess we have more in common than I thought.”
“Probably not.” Aroron said, crossing his arms. “I’m not a stiff neck noble.”
“Maybe you won’t be such a Vreck, after all.” Telarian said, with a wink. “Then again…” He laughed. “Come on, your chamber's this way. I’ve got better things to do, than chat with you.”
Aroron was shocked at how quickly Telarian had opened up to him. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who needed friends in this place. He thought, following after the prince.
They turned a few more corners before they finally came to where Aroron’s chamber was. Telarian opened the door and tossed the key to Aroron. “Here we are.”
Aroron tucked the key into his belt and stepped into the room.
The chamber was small, but furnished nicer than he’d expected. Pressed against one of the walls, was a small bed. A plain gray blanket was spread across it, pulled so tightly against the side, it looked
like it might snap if you touched it. Next to it sat a small wood desk, painted white with the Shenockien crest in the center of it.
Next to the desk was an old, wobbly looking chair.
A small door was in the wall on the other side of the room. Aroron was pretty sure it was a closet, though he’d never seen one built into the wall like that.
It was smaller than his room in the Dark Castle, but at least it was cleaner and bigger than Hunter's whole cabin had been. To say nothing of the little corner he slept in at the blacksmith, which always smelled of melting metal.
But one thing stuck out to him, this wasn’t the room of a soldier.
“Why am I really here?” Aroron asked, turning to face Prince Telarian, who still stood in the doorway, watching him. “What’s your game?”
“What?” Telarian said, frowning.
“First, I should be in the barracks, not in the Palace.” Aroron said. “Second, this room isn’t meant for someone like me. It’s not super nice, but it’s nicer than most places in Shey.”
The prince bit his lip and nodded. “Alright, I’ll tell you the truth. My father… he’s changed his mind about wanting you in his army.”
“Then why am I still here?!” Aroron snapped, before he could catch himself. “If I’m not wanted, why am I here?” he asked, trying to calm himself. If he wasn’t in the army how was he going to get information to Hunter?
“The king…” the prince sneered, before speaking the next words. “He wants you to be my personal bodyguard and ‘friend’.”
“You’re kidding me!” Aroron laughed. “Why would he do that?”
“Believe me, I’m not any happier about this than you are.” Telarian scoffed. “I’d rather anyone other than you, but the choice isn’t mine.”
Aroron sighed and turned towards the room’s one and only window. “What does this mean for me?”
“Oh, just means you’ll have to go to parties and on trips with me.” Telarian said, shrugging. “Things like that.” He cleared his throat. “Well, I’d better get going.” Before Aroron could ask anything else, he was gone.
Shaking his head, Aroron closed and locked the door, then threw himself down onto the bed. It didn’t take long before he slipped into a light sleep.
Aroron's eyes flickered open, at the sound of someone knocking on his door. Sighing, he shoved himself up. Rolling out of bed, moaning as he trudged to the door. He had no idea why he was so tired. He’d hardly done anything all day.
Unhooking the lock, he slid the door open. “Yes?”
The man standing outside the door, wore a strange flowing suit. He stood stiffly, staring out into space, another suit hooked over his arm.
“Sir.” He mumbled, taking the suit from his arm, he handed it to Aroron. "This is for you," he said, bowing as he continued to hold it out to him.
Aroron looked down at the suit and sneered. It was most likely the strangest thing he'd seen and there was no way he was going to wear it! It was more like a dress, than a suit.
"I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that," Aroron said, crossing his arms. There was no way he was going to take it from the man.
"But you must wear it!" the servant said, glancing around. He stepped forwards and whispered, "It's the newest fashion in the Palace for a man in your position."
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, a personal bodyguard.” He said. “This is what they wear.”
"Says who?" Aroron asked. "Someone who wants to make a fool out of me?"
"No, sir!" the servant gasped, stepping back.
"I don't care who wears this kind of suit, I'm not wearing it and that's final!" Aroron growled. “If you don’t like it, that’s your problem.”
The servant sighed and nodded his head. "Alright, can I at least clean the clothing you're wearing?" he asked. "I can smell the foulness of it from here!"
Aroron snorted. “That would be a little weird, since these are all I have to wear.”
The man’s eyes widened. “You can’t expect to go to the feast next week, wearing those!” he gasped. “You’d make goons of the whole Palace.”
“If you have a problem with it, find me a plain tunic and shirt, and I’ll wear them.” Aroron said, before the servant could say another word, he slammed the door in his face.
He flopped back down on the bed and stared up at the roof. So much for helping his people. He doubted he’d learn anything useful being Prince Telarian’s personal bodyguard.
Aroron sighed and closed his eyes again. No matter what he did, nothing ever went his way. The only good part, was he’d be able to get to know Gana better.
Aroron sat bolt upright. Maybe she had something to do with the King changing his mind! She’d made it obvious that she didn’t want him joining the army. But would she go to that extent for him?
There was only one way of finding out.
Aroron scrambled to his feet, grabbed up his coat, hurried out of his chamber and down the hall.
After walking down several hallways, Aroron stopped walking. He slid his coat on, as he looked around him. Which way? He wondered. Was there no way he could find his way around the Palace, without getting lost at some point? It didn’t seem likely.
Reluctantly, Aroron turned around and headed the other direction. He was probably going to have to ask someone where he needed to go. He'd only gone down two corridors, that looked vaguely familiar to him, when the door in front of him swung open and nearly hit him in the face.
Several people exited the room without noticing Aroron. He recognized one of their voices and smiled.
“Lady Gana, may I speak with you?” Aroron asked, stepping around the door.
“Oh! Aroron, what are you doing back here?” she asked, moving away from the other girls.
“Did you have something to do with the king making me Telarian’s personal bodyguard?” he blurted out, glancing towards the girls. “Was it you?”
“Go on without me.” She called to the other young ladies. “I’ll be along momentarily.” Hesitantly, they curtsied and left. Gana pushed back her hair and adverted his gaze. “Would it be so bad if I did?”
Aroron sighed. “No, I guess not. It just… I had my own reasons for wanting to be part of the army.”
“Like what?” she asked, squinting.
He shook his head. “Nothing, forget I said anything about it.”
“About what?” she asked, flashing him a smile. “If you ever need any help, I’m always here for you.” Lady Gana whispered, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. “Always.”
Aroron placed his hand on her hand and smiled. “Likewise, my lady.”
Chapter 16
Fanning the Flames
“Drinadad still stands against me!” King Munay growled, throwing himself back against his throne. “Must Shenock also?!” he asked, glaring out one of the windows above him.
In front of him sat the council table, with Munay’s top Loyal Warriors and nobles gathered around it. At the other end from Munay, sat Enrick. You couldn’t tell by the way he held himself, that this was his first meeting.
He didn’t get to make any of the decisions, but at least it was better than sitting in his chambers wondering what they were talking about. At least here, he could influence what the others thought.
“Shenock would be weakened even more if King Dillaran were removed from the throne and his son took his place.” Enrick mumbled, leaning back in his chair. “If only we knew a way to get rid of him.” he scoffed. “Like we have so many others.”
“What good would that do us? Why do you suggest that, except to solidify your disdain for Willow?!”
“Please! Why would I do that, when everyone already knows how much I hate that woman?” Enrick asked, continuing before his father could respond. “You’ve said it yourself, someone young shouldn’t rule. Remember? Don’t you think most of the Shenockien nobles share your sentiment? How would they feel to have a boy for a king? If we attack them, then the boy will cr
umble so much easier than his father. Besides, we all know how much Shenockiens love their peace, they have parties about it, all the time."
Rubbing his chin, King Munay seemed to study the wall in front of him for a very long time. The nobles and the Loyal Warriors all seemed to know they were expected to remain silent while the king thought through the issue.
Enrick let his leg bob up and down, as he fought the urge to speak again.
What was taking Munay so long to think about it?! He wondered, lacing and unlacing his hands in front of himself. He was just lacing his fingers again, when one of the throne room’s side doors opened and a messenger stepped through.
The messenger scurried across the room and over to where Dasety sat. He whispered something to him, then handed him a letter and scurried out again.
Prince Enrick sat up and leaned towards the table. What was so important that a messenger would interrupt a meeting like this? “What is that, Dasety?” he asked, breaking the silence.
This seemed to pull King Munay out of his thoughts and he turned towards Dasety and saw the letter. “Enrick’s right, what is that?” he asked, leaning against the edge of his throne.
Dasety looked at the letter, then up at Enrick and King Munay and back to the letter.
“It’s from one of my contacts in Shey.” Dasety said, slowly folding up the letter. “It would seem Aroron may be in Shey and still alive after all.”
“See! We should strike Shenock, take out the king and Aroron in one fell swoop.” Enrick said, banging the arm of his chair. “Shenock will fall, as will Aroron, once and for all!”
“You already told me you took him out!” King Munay growled. “Your word is of little value here. So maybe you should keep your thoughts to yourself!”
Holding his chin up high, Enrick closed his mouth, sat back and crossed his arms.
King Munay turned back to Dasety. “Let us say I’m willing to remove Dillaran from his throne. How do you think Willow will take it?” He asked. “Her brother may not be close to her, but she’s close to him. It would crush her if she found out we were behind it.”
“Who said she needed to know?” Enrick mumbled and Munay shot him a look.
